The new C-suite of Cannes : CMOs, Creators, Culture and Creativity - who and what was earning attention.

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity defined a new C-Suite this year and it was all about earning the attention of the thousands who flocked into town.

The Festival is no doubt all about connections and creativity, but it was the CMOs, Creators and the theme of Culture that really stole the show. 

C-MOs 

The CMOs were the hot property of the week with the who’s who of global CMOs in town to spruik their brands. Julia Goldwin was crowned European CMO of the Year 2026 becoming the inaugural recipient of the award - a new accolade at the Lions recognising the continent's most influential marketing leaders. The CMOs at Cannes’ popularity extends much deeper than their marketing spends. Surrounding them is a new level of fandom. Crowds hung on their every word: What do they say about AI? What work did they lead delivering Lions? What do they think about the challenges and opportunities ahead?

Above: The LEGO Group’s Julia Goldin earns the inaugural European CMO of the Year Award in Cannes.

Just one of the many CMO Spotlight sessions we attended in Cannes - above, Klarna’s David Sandstrom, Snap Inc.’s Grace Kao and Airwallex’s Jon Stona.

C-reators

Creators dominated the Festival population and it was the podcasters who were the heroes. Think Mel Robbins, Steven Bartlett, Alex Cooper plus new faces who are emerging globally. They dominated stages, were in high demand by brands and many partnered with big tech to help launch new ad products. It was the second year that the Festival delivered its Creator (only) Pass and dedicated content streams. There was an exclusive section of the Festival for creators and this year’s buzz word was “micro-films”. They are the future stars of streaming services and the Studios. The new players in the creator economy are the B2B creators (so much so LinkedIn was showcasing big name NBA stars to launch their new Creator Marketplace.)

Above: Call Her Daddy podcaster Alex Cooper with WSJ's Suzanne Vranica at Journal House.

Above: At the TikTok Rooftop private event with GM AU/NZ TikTok Amy Bradshaw and creator Katie Fang.

Above: Talent and creators stole the show in Cannes. Thanks to Variety and GoogleTV we were front row with Ramin Setoodeh, Co-President & Co-Editor-In-Chief Variety and Will.I.Am.

C-ulture 

It was obvious coming into the Festival that Culture was set to dominate the official and unofficial programs. Culture as a conversation arguably overtook AI this year. Sport took centre stage beyond Sports Beach, with a new Sports-only attendee ticket and a new content stream on the program.

Tennis Australia were among the international sporting bodies taking to the stage for the first time and leveraging the Festival through privately hosted CMO events. Global CMOs like Jon Stona from Airwallex spoke about investing in undervalued cultural assets and being on the journey early with sports properties. Even stylist icon and reality TV star Rachel Zoe at FQ Beach declared sport the new "fashion runway". Kantar was our pick of the week delivering new research showing how global brands are winning in culture claiming winning brands treat culture as both a system to invest in and a conduit to drive meaningful difference. 

Above: One of our top sessions of the week - Kantar executives with Lucy Gregory from Disney Advertising, Giovanna Bressane Gomes from Unilever and Mike Christensen from Stitcht.

C-reativity 

Although Creativity remains the centerpiece, now the Festival is so much more. Claude and OpenAI are showing up with other global powerhouses for the first time. The Studios flew in their biggest Hollywood stars (oh yes, we attended a lunch where Sacha Baron Cohen and Rob Lowe were at the next table). IRL brand activations are on creative steroids. There are brands and agencies at Cannes all competing for the same buck and it’s disguised as a creative conversation. 

It’s very clear that the Cannes Lions is about brand growth and winning in business - creativity underpins that yet now the tech companies are driving the agenda.

And we can’t discuss brands and creativity without addressing Brand Reputation—a measurable metric that remains the ultimate pursuit for every influential CMO.

Above: Pinterest’s Manifestival where attendees could interact with the trends, aesthetics and ideas shaping culture. 

...so the C-Suite at Cannes continues to evolve and it's far from ‘au revoir’ as to how these Cs gain momentum in the year ahead.